Arceus is also known as "The Original One," as it is said that it created Sinnoh, and possibly the entire Pokémon universe, along with the lake guardians and dragon trio. Arceus can only be found in the wild legitimately with the Azure Flute, which has not yet been distributed officially and can currently only be obtained by cheating. However, Arceus itself was once distributed at Toys "R" Us stores in the United States and Puerto Rico from November 7 to November 15, 2009.

Biology

Physiology

Arceus is an equine being similar to a Qilin or Centaur. Its body color is white with a gray, vertically-striated underside, the pattern of which has similar recurrences on the underside of Arceus's mane, tail, and face, and Arceus's four pointed feet are tipped with gold hooves. Its mane is quite long, jutting away from its head, and its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. Arceus also has a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. Its neck is fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. It also has a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen, which changes color along with its eyes and hooves based on Arceus's current type. The wheel also has four jewels attached to it. The pattern of striated gray of Arceus's underbelly resumes past Arceus's waist, the underside of Arceus's limbs also being gray in coloration, and with extrusions at the tops of the legs. Arceus's tail is fairly like its mane in shape and coloration.

Gender differences

Arceus is a genderless species.

Special abilities

An animation displaying Arceus's different colorings while holding plates

In the anime

Arceus made its debut in Arceus and the Jewel of Life. It was angry at the people of Michina Town for Damos's unwitting betrayal of it in ancient times, and so attempted to destroy the land. When Ash and his friends are teleported by Dialga to ancient times, they directly influence the event, changing the future for the better so that Arceus will stop its destruction.

In Battle Finale of Legend!, although Arceus is neither seen nor named, the Red Chain is said to contain the power of 'The Original One'. Using the Red Chain, Cyrus takes control of Dialga and Palkia by causing a red ring similar to the one surrounding Arceus' body to appear around their bodies.

In the manga

Arceus appears as a central character in the Movie 12 manga adaptation, reprising its role from the film. After Arceus saved the world from a meteor, Damos took care of it. It gave Damos the Jewel of Life to make the land of Michina rich and fertile. Damos then betrayed Arceus, and it has been outraged ever since.

In the TCG

Arceus appears in the TCG in all nine elemental types, and a player can have as many Arceus cards in their deck as they like, unlike all other cards in the game (besides Basic Energy cards). Cards based on Arceus first appeared in the Arceus expansion set.

Trivia

At level 80, Arceus is the second-highest level Pokémon available for capture, after the Magikarp in the Resort Area in Pokémon Platinum (which can be caught at any level). However, the Azure Flute needed to encounter it has never been made officially available.

Arceus's English name has had three different pronunciations. Before it was officially revealed, fans pronounced it as "AR-see-oos", as does Pokémon Battle Revolution. Then, a promotional trailer for Arceus and the Jewel of Life pronounced it as "Ar-SAY-us". Its official pronunciation was then revealed in a Pokémon.com mailbag as "ARK-ee-us". Its original pronunciation is still in popular usage and isn't considered to be incorrect.

The code for Diamond and Pearl has sprites for Arceus using its Multitype ability with all 18 types, including ??? type. It is disputed whether the ???-type Arceus is obtainable, as there is no plate in the code that can be used for this. It is possible this sprite was programmed in to prevent game crashes caused by tampering with Arceus's type.

Arceus's signature move, Judgment, is the only move that Arceus is guaranteed STAB for, as it is always the same type as Arceus itself. However, on the battle screen, Judgment is always displayed as a Template:Type2 attack.

Even though it is said that Arceus created the world with its thousand arms, it is not shown to have any arms at all, nor can it learn hand-based or arm-based moves.

Arceus is the only Pokémon to never officially receive a DPBP number. Kadabra, which was not released as a TCG card during the DPBP era, is assumed to be #070, as Abra and Alakazam are #069 and #071, respectively.

The ring around Arceus's body appears to have a malevolent counterpart in the embodiment of the Red Chain, as a red version of it is shown to ring Dialga and Palkia around the middle when Cyrus takes control of them in DP152.

Arceus is one of three Pokémon that can learn all of the moves obtainable as HMs. The two others are Mew and Smeargle.

Arceus is the one who is rumored to have prevented all Pokémon in the future from disappearing in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. Dialga explains that it "was no miracle" that they were saved, and that a "greater power(Arceus)" saved them all. Arceus is the leader of the dragon trio, of which Dialga is a member.

Origin

Arceus is particularly based on a creator deity, present in many world cultures. The conception of the first god might be influenced from Kunitokotachi and Amenominakanushi, who, according to Shinto myth, summoned Izanami and Izanagi to create Japan with the spear. It may also be a reference to the Chinese mythical creature, the Qilin. Its myth is nearly identical to that of the Pangu, the Chinese creation deity.

Arceus may also be inspired by (or a representation of) the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who, in Buddhism, is either pictured with eleven heads and one thousand arms (the latter of which is mentioned in Arceus's flavor text) or in a white four-armed manifestation (which could look similar to Arceus's Normal form).

Some inspiration may have come from a horse, because of its Platinum sprite and attack movements in Pokémon Battle Revolution.

Name origin

Arceus's name may come from the words arch (highest) and deus, which is Latin for god. It may also have a root in the Latin word arcanus, which means secret; sacred mystery. Arceus's name may also come from the word archaic (ancient), which comes from the Greek arkhaios, and is derived from the ancient Greek word for "beginning", arkhē. It could have also come from the Latin word archetypus (original). Alternatively, Arceus's name can be seen as a portmanteau of Zeus, the most powerful of Greek gods and arch (highest). Another theory may be the combination of Zeus and Ra spelled backwards. Zeus being the king of gods and Ra being the solar god and creator (albeit in different pantheons). Those two qualities are shared by the Pokémon. Also, Arceus can also be derived from aureus (golden), possibly referring to its hooves and wheel. Nevertheless, Arceus's name origin and possible theories have led fans to believe that Arceus may be in fact a creator deity in Pokémon form.